Demand justice for West Virginians whose water has been poisoned

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Demand justice for West Virginians whose water has been poisoned

To be delivered to
Joseph Pizarchik, Director, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

Petition Statement

I SUPPORT the CARE campaign’s petition to the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) to terminate West Virginia’s mining enforcement program and implement a program that is accountable to the people of West Virginia.

There are currently 32,407 signatures.
NEW goal -
We need 40,000 signatures!

Petition Background

Over 300,000 West Virginians’ water was poisoned with chemicals from the coal industry -- and now hundreds of people are sick.

Water isn’t only being poisoned by these chemicals; there is a long history of water in West Virginia being poisoned by the coal industry; mountaintop removal has destroyed thousands of pristine streams, and there are dozens of toxic slurry dams across the state.

West Virginia’s DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) has been captured by the coal industry, and can’t be trusted to ensure safe, clean, drinking water. We need OSM to step-in, terminate West Virginia’s ineffective mining enforcement program, and set-up a program that protects our water.

Water in West Virginia is being poisoned every day, and another tragic spill like this could happen at any moment.

The CARE Campaign, founded by concerned West Virginians, is petitioning the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement to terminate West Virginia’s mining enforcement program and implement a program that is accountable to the people of West Virginia.

Demand President Obama’s OSM step-in and stand with West Virginians.

"Exposure to the slurry of water and other chemicals formed after coal is washed would be more dangerous to human health than exposure to MCMH—and there have been numerous coal slurry floods and spills in West Virginia and U.S. history. That slurry is made far more toxic by the heavy metals and other dangerous elements leached from the coal itself. " - Scientific American (http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-dangerous-is-the-chemical-spilled-in-west-virginia&page=2)

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